Birds!! I Used to Post Birds. Surf Scoters Today.
I kept waiting for the the steady drizzle to be less visible before going out to run Sunday. I could see it coming down, but I couldn't capture the rain on my camera. But eventually I took off and this time in a new direction as I started out to Thane Road, which heads south of downtown. My legs felt like I had weights on them. I got down to the cruise ship docks and saw a flock of black birds in the water.
For the birders, the video has them swimming in various formations, diving, and surfacing. There's also some interaction with some gulls that I don't quite understand. Are they all in the same place because there was food below the surface? Did the gulls come because they saw the scoters? Did their presence affect each other's behavior? Did the dive because the gulls flew in? Why did the last one stay on the surface? Was he a lookout? So many questions. But I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent out there watching the birds.
I don't have gulls in the heading. Once I learned that they change colors almost every year until they are adults, I gave up on trying to identify anything but mature gulls. And I'm making the (probably incorrect) assumption that if they are grey/brown like this, they are still immature.
For the birders, the video has them swimming in various formations, diving, and surfacing. There's also some interaction with some gulls that I don't quite understand. Are they all in the same place because there was food below the surface? Did the gulls come because they saw the scoters? Did their presence affect each other's behavior? Did the dive because the gulls flew in? Why did the last one stay on the surface? Was he a lookout? So many questions. But I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent out there watching the birds.
I don't have gulls in the heading. Once I learned that they change colors almost every year until they are adults, I gave up on trying to identify anything but mature gulls. And I'm making the (probably incorrect) assumption that if they are grey/brown like this, they are still immature.